Looking For Home
by OptimisticPessimist12
Summary: AU. Laying in the middle of the road, at midnight, Mackenzie finds an unconscious man. He claims his name is Damon Salvatore, from Mystic Falls. What Damon doesn't know is that he has been sent to a reality where his life is just a TV Show. The problem? Nobody seems to recognize him. Will he be able to get back? How is Mystic Falls now that he is missing?
1. Prologue

**Looking For Home**

**Prologue.**

* * *

"_Mister! Hey!"_

His mouth scrunched up into a frown, the voice breaking through his sleep. Though, he never remembered falling asleep. There was a hand on his shoulder, gripping his forearm under his leather jacket.

"_Hey...mister? Can you hear me?"_

There has a hard shake, his blue eyes popping open. A bright light made him want to close them again, though he realized that the sky above him was dark. The light was coming from a pair of head lights of a car, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Hey there," the voice was right about him now, his eyes moving towards the figure hovering above him. He couldn't pick out any features of the person above him, but they sounded like a female.

"You do realize that you are sleeping in the middle of a usually busy freeway, right?" she remarked, helping him sit up. "Are you hurt? Do you need a hospital?"

"No," came his quick reply, pulling himself up. The woman in front of him stood to her full height, though she only reached his shoulders. Her hand was still on his right shoulder, a concerned look on her face. At least, that's what he could pick out from the lights of her car that were shining on them.

"No hospital, I'm fine," he said, pulling his arm away from her for a few moments. The woman lowered her arm to her side, her head tilting slightly.

"Have you been hitting the bottle pretty hard?" she asked, "what's your name?"

"What's it to you?"

The woman raised her hands slightly, "I'm just trying to help you."

"I don't need any help." he stated, pulling out his phone. He started to surf through his contacts, deciding on Stefan's number first.

"_The number you have just dialled cannot be completed-" _

Alaric's? Not completed as dialled.

Elena's? Not completed as dialled.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, looking up from his phone to the woman standing across from him.

"Look, are you sure you are alright?"

"How far away from Mystic Falls am I?"

The woman paused, an uncomfortable silence falling between them for a few moments. She shifted slightly, a laugh escaping her mouth.

"Well, I'm pretty sure there isn't a Mystic Falls in British Columbia, Canada," she said slowly, "look, I'm going to call the police, they can give you a hand-"

"_I'm in Canada?_" his eyes were wide, his voice sharp and a loud. The woman nodded her head, looking him up and down.

"Where else would you be?" she asked, "how about you tell me your name?"

"It's Damon Salvatore," he stated, the woman giving him an odd look.

"Damon Salvatore, from Mystic Falls?"

"Yeah," Damon insisted, not sure why he was feeling this way. He was honestly a little out of it. "I come from Mystic Falls, you know me?"

"Alright, well I'm going to assume that you are giving me a false name. Which is fine, I understand. Let's just get you into town, okay?" she asked, walking towards her car. Damon followed after her, his eyes narrowing.

"Why do you say it's a false name?" he demanded, "that's my name, take it or leave it. What is yours anyway?"

"Mackenzie," she stated, opening the passenger door for him, "and I don't believe you because Damon Salvatore, from Mystic Falls, is a fictional character on the show _The Vampire Diaries_."


	2. Chapter 1

**Looking For Home**

**Chapter One. **

* * *

"I'm not setting foot inside that police station," Damon stated, sharing a hard look with Mackenzie, who seemed to grow more and more tired and irritable as the conversation went on.

"Well, I'm not going to be taking you home with me, I don't even know you," she said for what felt like the fiftieth time since she stopped the car outside the police station. Damon tried to tell her what to do a few times, making some rather awkward eye contact with her.

But, Mackenzie kept firm and told him that he needed to get out of the car. She even offered to go in with him, but Damon refused to do so.

"Do you have some sort of phobia of the police or something?" she asked, her voice harsh and louder than she wanted it to be.

"This has to be some sort of joke right?" Damon asked, "first, you keep insisting that my life story is some plot line for a television show, and secondly, you just want to drop me off at some police station in the middle of nowhere."

"You are obviously delusional if you think you are actually Damon Salvatore," Mackenzie said, shaking her head, "And you are only a few minutes off from Banff. I'm not taking you anywhere. Either you leave this car willingly, or I'm going to inside that police station and you will be removed by force."

Damon leaned forward, looking directly into her eyes. "You are going to take me to your home, you will not question anything."

Mackenzie stared at him for a few moments, Damon thinking that his compulsion was going to work. She only shook her head, a smile crossing her face.

"With a tone like that, I'm surprised anybody would take you anywhere."

"You must be on vervain," Damon stated, looking away from here for a few moments.

"The whole vampire, Damon Salvatore, thing was a little cute at first, but now it's becoming really annoying. Get out of my car."

"I woke up in the middle of the road, miles away from my home- no, actually in a whole different country, and you want me to just walk into the police station and explain how I managed to get here?" Damon asked, watching as Mackenzie tapped her hands against the steering wheel. She turned to look at him, her eyes narrowing.

"And I'm supposed to believe that you are _Damon Salvatore_, a _vampire_?" she questioned.

"Yes."

She looked away, shaking her head. "It's three in the morning, I have to work in exactly three hours. You know, I probably saved you from being road kill, or being a meal for a hungry animal. You are the most ungrateful-"

"Well, indulge me!" Damon exclaimed, "it's three in the morning, and I'm tired too. We both know who is going to win this argument, it would just be easier if you just gave me a place to stay for a while."

"I'm not going to let you into my home," Mackenzie stated, reaching across him and pushed open his door, she pointed to outside the car, "get out of my car."

"Tell me why you won't let me stay at your house overnight. Hell, I'm sure all the officers are at home sleeping."

"Because, I don't trust you. Who is to say that you won't stab me or my tenant in our sleep?" Mackenzie asked, her teeth clenching.

"I won't," Damon said, "I have nothing to hurt you with, anyway."

"Not right now," Mackenzie said, "but, you could kill me with a butter knife if you tried hard enough."

"I just need a place to stay so I can figure out how I'm going to get home," Damon said, "does that sound suspicious?"

"Yeah, if you are giving me the bio of a television show character and claiming that you are him," Mackenzie snapped, "yeah, that does sound suspicious."

"This has to be some joke," Damon muttered, stepping outside the open door, "some sort of prank. Who set you up? Was it Caroline? Klaus?" he paused, "Stefan?"

"That's cute," Mackenzie stated, reaching over to close the door.

"You are really just going to leave me here?" Damon asked, "I thought you Canadian folk were supposed to be friendly?"

"You ever heard of a, I don't know, _stereotype?_"

Damon smirked slightly, but it faded when he saw her reaching to close the car door.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked, "the police can't help me. I'm supposedly a television character!"

"I guess you'll have to tell the truth," Mackenzie said, Damon staring at her for a few moments before he just shook his head and started to walk towards the entrance of the police station. She closed the passenger side door and leaned back into her seat, turning the car back on. She paused, looking at Damon standing at the front of the station, looking inside the darkened building.

She bit the inside of her cheek, shaking her head. "I'm going to regret this..." she whispered, waiting until Damon turned to look at her. She motioned for him to come to the window, Damon approaching the car. Mackenzie rolled down the window, giving him a hard look.

"You will sleep on the couch," she stated, a smirk growing on Damon's face, "one blanket, one pillow. You will not bother Jessica when she gets up to go to her classes, and as soon as I am up, we are coming right back here. Got it?"

"I don't know, you could at least offer me a bed." Damon said, raising his eyebrows.

"You can sleep out here in front of the station," Mackenzie offered, Damon rolling his eyes.

"It was a joke, relax. Unlock the car."

* * *

Damon sat down on the hard couch, a blanket resting on his lap. Couches were not his style, he would have compelled his way into a bed, but Mackenzie seemed to be immune. It had to be vervain, and she didn't seem like a witch.

Though, she certainly had the bitchy part down.

"Here's your pillow," Mackenzie stated, walking back into the room with a white pillow in her hands. "the bathroom is down the hall, to your right. I have locked the cupboards and drawers, for my piece of mind. I hope you don't mind."

"You lock your cupboards?" Damon asked, chuckling.

"I do have nieces, nephews, and a couple cousins that are toddlers, and they do visit," Mackenzie muttered, Damon taking the pillow from her.

"How many times to do I have to tell you, I'm not a serial killer." Damon muttered placing the pillow down behind him on the couch, leaning back into it.

"You can tell me you're my long lost twin, too. I still won't believe you."

Damon just shook his head, grabbing the blanket and pushed himself down so he was laying on the couch. Mackenzie turned off the lamp on the table beside him and started to walk away.

"Yeah, sweet dreams to you, too," Damon muttered, staring at ceiling above him. He ran over the events of the last couple hours.

How did he get here?

The last thing he remembered was watching Stefan trying to coax Elena into drinking another blood bag, and she refusing to do so. It was late at night back at his home, too. He tried to get some sleep and then...

Bam! Canada.

The television show character thing had to be some sort of joke, though. It had to be. Maybe that little punk Kol was behind all of this. Or Rebekah, as some sort of payback. Mackenzie could be compelled to insist that his life was a TV show.

Though, the phone numbers...

Damon let out a sigh, closing his eyes. Maybe when he woke up, it would all be some messed up dream. He would wake up in his bed, Elena would be the moody newborn vampire she is. Maybe he could tell her about his dream and cheer her up a bit.

Yeah, this had to be some sort of dream.

* * *

Damon woke up slowly, sunlight filtering in though the windows of the living room. He was still asleep on the couch, the blanket was on the floor. He must have kicked it off in his sleep, but he was still very much on the same couch he fell asleep on.

He sat up with a sigh, walking over towards the kitchen. He glanced around the house, everything much brighter and welcoming now that it was daylight. He paused, looking outside a screen door that was part of the kitchen. There was a rather large patio, steps leading down into a large yard. Tall trees were surrounding the yard, making it seem like the house was in the middle of nowhere. At the end of the yard, some water could be seen from the small pond there.

The mountains topped off the scenery very nicely, Damon walking forward and unlocking the screen door, pushing it open and stepping outside. The air was a little cold, not that he cared. He leaned against the railing, looking at the yard for a few moments.

"Who are you?"

Damon jumped slightly, his head turning towards where the voice was coming from. A young girl was resting there, some sort of textbook open on her lap. Damon was surprised that he hadn't heard or sensed her sitting there.

She kind of reminded him of Elena for a few moments, the way she stared at him. Her frame was slender, dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. A pair of glasses rested on her nose, green eyes staring at him in confusion.

"Mackenzie didn't tell you?" Damon asked, the girl shaking her head.

"I didn't know she took in another house guest, she usually tells me when someone new is living here. I guess I missed that memo," she stood, closing her textbook. "I'm Jessica." she said, extending her hand.

Damon shook it, giving her a slight smile. "Damon Salvatore."

Jessica raised her eyebrow, "like that vampire off that cheesy vampire romance show?"

Damon sighed, "yeah, sure."

Jessica laughed, "I'm sorry, no offence intended. You staying here for collage, too?"

"No, I just stayed the night," Damon said, "I have no idea how I got up here, but Mackenzie seems pretty determined to get rid of me."

"Really?" Jessica asked, "that doesn't sound like her..."

"She also thinks I'm some serial killer, claiming that I'm using my own name as an alias," Damon muttered, Jessica nodding her head.

"Well, you can't really blame her," she said, "I didn't see you when I went to bed at eleven, so she must have ran into you pretty late at night. Where are you headed? Banff? Vancouver?"

"Mystic Falls."

Jessica smiled, "come on, where are you really headed?"

"Don't you have some sort of class you need to get to?" Damon asked, not wanting to get into an argument trying to convince her that he was serious.

She might be able to convince Mackenzie to letting him stay. At least until he found a way back to Mystic Falls.

"Yeah, I'm leaving in twenty minutes," Jessica said, looking down at her text book, "look, don't let Mackenzie's toughness fool you, she can be swayed. She let you stay one night, she'll probably let you stay another."

She have him a quick nod and a smile, slipping back into the house. Damon smirked, giving her a fleeting glance as she turned the corner to head down the hall.

If there was one thing he was good at, it was swaying stubborn woman. Even if it was only for a place to stay.

Maybe he could get a bed this time.


	3. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the support so far. I would love to hear your opinions! **

* * *

**Looking For Home**

**Chapter Two.**

* * *

"I can't believe it," she breathed, her brown eyes wide with hurt and the unmistakable feeling of anger starting to build up inside her chest. Her mouth was slightly parted, eyebrows furrowing.

"He just...up and left? Left everything?" she asked, glancing at Stefan who was standing beside her. It had been a full day since they had seen or heard from Damon. It was odd, all of Damon's things were in his room. No clothes were missing, his car was still in the driveway.

It was like he just disappeared into thin air.

"That's what I'm assuming," Stefan said, looking at Elena as she shook her head.

"I can't believe this, the one time I need him and he pulls something like this," she growled, shaking her head once more. As if she denied it hard enough, Damon would just walk through the front door again.

"I've been trying to contact Bonnie, but she isn't picking up," Stefan said, "we could get a locator spell on Damon and see where he is. We could track him down if you really wanted to."

"I do," Elena insisted, "but, don't you find it odd? That he would leave without taking anything? I can understand that he might leave his stuff behind, but his car?"

"You can never know with Damon," Stefan said, giving Elena a look, "I'm sorry he did this, I know that you wanted his support."

"We'll find him," Elena stated, looking around Damon's room as Stefan gave her another look before leaving the room. Elena stood in the room by herself, worried and hurt that Damon was just gone.

"_Where are you?"_

* * *

"I told you," Damon said with a shrug, his hands in the pockets of his jacket, "the police can't help me on this. We wasted a good hour of the day that could have been spent doing something productive."

Mackenzie gave him a slight smile, "like what? You were sitting on the couch watching some sort of talk show when I woke up. You want to do that for the rest of the day?"

"God, no," Damon said, making a disgusted face, "but I had to do _something_. Your interesting housemate had left for the day."

"Yeah, yeah," Mackenzie said, waving her hand slightly, "didn't I tell you to not bother her?"

"Kind of hard when she talked to me, first," Damon muttered, following Mackenzie out to her car. "So, does this mean I can stay?"

"Free of charge? I don't think so," Mackenzie said, "I wasted gas getting you here, you got money to pay for that?"

"I don't know, does my bank cards and credit cards still exist here?" Damon asked, mostly to himself. Though, he heard Mackenzie chuckle.

"Look, I'll let you stay under certain conditions," she said, stopping in front of the car, "because your free ride has just ended."

"_Free ride?_" Damon asked, incredulous, "what _free ride_? You harassed me last night and most of this morning."

"Yeah, but I let you stay at my place on the couch, let you use water from my shower, and let you cook for yourself. That stuff isn't cheap."

"So, what? You forcing me to get a job?"

She paused, "no, I'm not forcing you to get a job. If you choose to remain unemployed or you aren't going to school, you get to help out around the house. You want a bed to sleep in? You get to work to keep it."

"What kind of stuff will I be doing?" Damon asked, crossing his arms.

"Tending to the front and back yard, cleaning the kitchen, you'll help with cooking, cleaning the bathroom, living area, and a few other things. Though, everybody does their own laundry and keeps their own room clean," Mackenzie explained, Damon shaking his head.

"I'm not your maid," Damon said, "if I wanted to clean I would get a job as a janitor."

"I said you could stay, I didn't say it was going to be easy." Mackenzie turned and walked back towards her car, Damon letting out a sigh and followed after her.

It was better than trying to pay for a motel room with no money, he guessed he could clean a bit.

Vampire's weren't made to _clean_, at least not household chores anyway.

Though, he wasn't sure what was wrong with him with for the past day, he was hungry, tired, grumpy, and couldn't use his vampire skills.

He felt...human.

* * *

"So, what is there to do out here?" Damon asked, leaning against the kitchen counter as he waited for the pot of water to boil on the stove. Mackenzie was cutting away at some vegetables, she still in her cutting and glanced at him.

"You can go hiking, shopping, there's the national park, too. Among other tourist attractions. Get on the computer, find out for yourself," she said, turning back to the cutting board and continued to cut up the celery.

"Well, it would defeat the purpose of asking you, wouldn't it?" Damon asked, he could see the side of Mackenzie's cheeks rise up slightly, Damon catching the glimpse of a smile as she turned her head momentarily.

"I'm not a tour guide, I barely get out of town much, anyway."

"That's uplifting," Damon muttered, looking towards the clean living room.

"Just because I don't get out much doesn't mean you don't, either. Entertain yourself," Mackenzie said, scooping up her celery she had been cutting and put in the pot.

"So, what's your deal, anyway?" Damon asked, "you know almost most of my life and I know barely anything about yours."

"You're right," Mackenzie said, "I guess I should start telling the truth, too. Alright, well my name is Buffy, I'm a vampire slayer-"

"Alright, alright," Damon said, "I get it. You still think I'm lying about my life, which I'm not, but you just keep believing that. Whatever floats your boat."

"Hey, I have the series," Mackenzie said, pointing towards a shelf in the living room, "you can look if you want. Though, I'm pretty sure you have already seen it, _Damon. _You're not pulling a fast one on anyone."

"This has to be some mishap or something," Damon said, "a witch messed with me or something. Bonnie will get this fixed, just you wait and see. One day, I'll just be gone."

"Well, hopefully you will have paid some sort of rent by then."

Damon just rolled his eyes, walking towards the self that had a number of different movies and TV series on it. He found the one she was talking about, pulling the box down and looking at the cover.

_The Vampire Diaries _written in sharp looking letters, Damon flipping the box around and read the back. He read about him and Stefan, in a few short words, falling for Elena and what was going on in Mystic Falls at the time. Though, it seemed to be a little late on the times. There was no mention of the Originals or Klaus, but it was enough to give him a uncomfortable shiver in his spine.

"Well, this just got very _Twilight Zone_ all of a sudden," Damon muttered, putting the box back on the shelf. "So, how many seasons of this show does this have?"

"Three," Mackenzie said, giving him a look, "though I only have the first two."

Damon shook his head, watching her stirring something in the pot on the stove. "So, are you a fan of this show?"

"I don't mind it," Mackenzie said, "I like the plot."

Damon smirked, "who's your favourite character?"

"If I say Damon Salvatore, will you come back and finish your job?" Mackenzie asked, glancing at him with an eyebrow raised slightly.

"Probably."

"Yes, I am a huge fan of Damon Salvatore, he's the hottest vampire there is," Mackenzie said without much feeling, "now come here and help me cut up the meat."


	4. Chapter 3

**Looking For Home**

**Chapter Three.**

* * *

"He's really staying here?" Jessica asked, looking up from the paper resting on the island in the kitchen. She took a glance towards Damon, who was surfing through the channels on the television. Mackenzie spared him a glance before she shrugged.

"I don't have it in me to just kick him out onto the street, I thought I would at least let him work a bit first," she said, rubbing her eyes. Jessica offered her a smile, placing her pencil down.

"So, has he told you his real name or anything yet?" she asked quietly, Mackenzie shook her head and looked at Damon for a few moments.

"I wonder what he's running from," Jessica mused, "obviously he wouldn't feel the need to change his name and identity if he wasn't running or leaving something. Maybe he's leaving a bad family life? Marriage?"

Mackenzie laughed, "or he's running from the law. Though, he has done nothing as of yet that I would describe as criminal."

"Well, he must be running from something," Jessica said, "he's adopted Damon Salvatore's life and claimed it as his own. It's probably a story to cover up something, he's probably said it so much be believes it."

"Hey, you're the psychology student, if you want to lay him down and psychoanalyze him, be my guest," Mackenzie said, standing. "I'm going to bed, I actually need to go to work tomorrow. I used a sick day today to help him out, as unsuccessful as that was."

"Yeah, go ahead," Jessica said, "have a good sleep."

Mackenzie nodded, rubbing her head and running a hand through her black hair. "You think he's going to be okay?"

"He seems happy," Jessica said, gesturing towards Damon.

"I know, but we won't be needing to send him to a psych ward, will we?" Mackenzie asked, sounding a little worried.

Jessica laughed, "no, he seems fine. He might just be a pathological liar, though how he got here seems a little odd but he's probably just hiding something."

"Alright, well, hopefully it won't be anything that will land us in jail," Mackenzie muttered, turning and heading down the darkened hall. She paused, turning to look at Damon once more.

"Hey, Damon!" she called, making the black-haired man glance at her, "turn off the lamps when you go to bed. If I find one on in the morning, I will break into your room and beat you with it."

With that, she turned and walked towards her bedroom. Damon gave her an odd look, taking a glance at Jessica.

"Is she always like that?" he asked, Jessica nodding her head.

"Her bark is worse than her bite."

* * *

Damon lay in his bedroom, the room bare aside from a dresser, a nightstand with an alarm clock resting on it, and the bed. The little red letters on the clock read it was two in the morning, Damon laying in the dark room and mulling over things again.

He had to start to think about ways to get back to his home, though he had no idea how to do that. He wasn't a witch, and he doubted that a witch or warlock would make themselves known to him. He hoped that people noticed he was gone back in his world, Elena and Stefan would try and find a way to get him back.

He let out a sigh and rolled over, closing his eyes. He hated to admit it, but he was kind of having fun here. There was no vampires breathing down his neck, or some sort of supernatural creature to deal with. It was like a sudden, and unwelcome, vacation. Well, aside from the fact that he would have to get up tomorrow and go grocery shopping, mow the lawn, or clean the house.

Probably all three.

He shrugged, it couldn't be that bad. He wasn't on the street and the bed he was falling asleep in wasn't horrible. Not as great as the bed back in his own room was, but it was better than the couch. He finally fell asleep.

"_Damon."_

"_Damon..."_

"_Can you hear me? Where are you?"_

Damon opened his eyes, surprised to see sunlight filtering through the window. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The dream was starting to fade already, not that it made much sense anyway. He stood and walked out into the hallway, seeing Mackenzie standing beside the kitchen island.

"There you are," she said, waving a piece of paper, "here is what I want you to do today. Nothing too big, we are running low on food and I need you to pick up some more sometime before I get back from my job," she handed him the paper, "it's all there, and in detail too so it will be a quick trip."

"I thought you would put it in code or something," Damon said, taking the paper from her, "seeing as you are so mean to me."

"I'm not mean, I'm making sure you do your part," she said, giving him a nod, "so, you better get that done today."

"Yeah, yeah," Damon said, placing the paper down on the counter.

"You left the kitchen light on last night," Mackenzie said, pulling her car keys from her pocket.

"I couldn't find the light switch," Damon said, shrugging.

Mackenzie gave him an annoyed look, "so you look for it."

"What, are you going to beat me with the kitchen light?" Damon asked, gesturing towards the light that was currently turned off that was hanging above them.

"No, it's a real bitch to try and reattach," Mackenzie said, heading towards the front door. Damon leaned against the island.

"You know, you are lucky that you have your humour working for you, your personality needs work."

"So does your compulsive lying," Mackenzie called back, shutting the front door behind her.

Damon paused, "my what?"

* * *

"I'm not getting anything," Bonnie said after a few moments, looking up at Elena and Stefan. She was still bitter about Elena being a vampire, and insisted that she meet them anywhere but her house.

Elena shook her head, "what do you mean you aren't getting anything?"

"What I mean is that I tried a locator spell, that didn't work. I tried another spell to try and communicate with him through a dream. I got a flicker of something, but it wasn't clear enough to make out anything," Bonnie explained, "he's either got himself protected, or he's just not here anymore."

"He has to be somewhere," Stefan said, "you can try something more powerful."

"Look, I've been trying to reach him all night, and I'm not getting anything. I'll keep trying, but it's the best I can do." Bonnie said, Elena shaking her head.

"Where could he have gone?" she asked, looking at Stefan.

"I don't think he has left," Stefan said, "he's somewhere and either Bonnie is having a hard time locking onto him, or he's got someone helping him hide."

"That or he's not _here_," Elena said, "if that's the case, he could be in trouble. Someone could be out to mess with him."

"Who would do that?" Stefan asked, "aside from Bonnie, he hasn't really pissed off a lot of witches lately."

"I don't know, but we should figure out where he is, first," Elena said, looking back at Bonnie. She looked worn down, which was odd. It looked like she was working herself too hard.

"I'll try my best," Bonnie said, Elena nodding her head.


End file.
